Matt Middleton has a primary goal in mind as his Kansas Wesleyan football team begins spring practice this week.
"Stay healthy, that's the main thing," said Middleton who enters his second season as head coach after guiding the Coyotes to a 7-4 record (3-2 in the KCAC Bissell Division) last fall.
KWU succeeded despite a rash of season-ending knee injuries that wreaked havoc on both sides of the ball - All-American running back Luke Armstrong, wide receiver Will Wilcox and defensive end Diego Davis among the seven casualties. Senior quarterback Henry Austad missed a game with a knee issue injury but returned and persevered the rest of the year.
"Injury-wise it was one of the worst I've ever been through, and we still found a way to compete," Middleton said. "I don't know that I've been more proud of a group of young men. Most people, I really believe, would have folded the tent early in the year when we started having all the injuries, but our group found a way to be competitive and win some and I think the factor was they loved each other.
"I do believe that coaching-wise, it was one of the better jobs that we've done. We went back and looked; we did not have the same starting receiving lineup after week three so it was eight different lineups in a row."
The first of the Coyotes' 15 practice sessions is Tuesday with Middleton expecting a squad of 103. They'll practice Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at JRI Stadium and the Graves Family Sports Complex.
"We probably won't have a spring game, going to try to stay healthy," he said. "We'll have some controlled scrimmage sessions in practice but we're going to really try to keep from beating each other up.
"Spring is a time when you look at your young guys and you tinker and move guys around to play multiple positions to see if they're able. Last year we were just trying to figure out what we had, now we're really trying to take it to another level to where now we know who we have."
Hit hard by graduation in May, Middleton and his staff have been busy finding replacements. The emphasis was on offense before the semester break.
Among the newcomers this spring are transfer quarterbacks Wyatt Oak from Southwest Minnesota State, Alec Jackson from Northeastern Oklahoma A&M and Tanner Walling from Wayne State (Neb.). There also are new additions at running back, wide receiver and the offensive line.
"We took a couple of (defensive backs) we needed but other than that the emphasis was mostly on offensive guys," Middleton said. "Now going through the spring and summer the emphasis is on defensive guys. We're still going to take some transfers here and there to fill immediate needs. We signed some really good high school kids that we feel like can come in and play for us immediately."
Middleton's staff has undergone change as well. Josh Qualls will serve as co-offensive coordinator/wide receiver coach; he was offensive coordinator at Division II Arkansas-Monticello last season. Middleton's father, Eric will be a volunteer assistant this spring. He was a successful longtime high school coach before recently retiring.
Middleton said he's more comfortable this spring.
"A year ago, I really had no idea what to expect," he said. "We lost some guys to graduation that we've got to replace but all in all knowing what I know about the league now I'm more prepared than I was a year ago.
"I think our league is strong. You look from the top down and on any given week anybody can beat one another. We're still a ways off as far as being at the top of the conference. We have programs in our conference that have invested heavily, and you're starting to see that tier process from the top down. There's no weak link in this conference, everybody scares me to death."